THE BIOLOGICAL STABILITY OF BETA-PEPTIDES - NO INTERACTIONS BETWEEN ALPHA-PEPTIDIC AND BETA-PEPTIDIC STRUCTURES

The use of peptides in pharmaceutical applications is always hindered by the rapid degradation of the peptides by enzymes. Recent work on be ta-peptides, peptides constructed entirely from beta-amino acids, has shown that even the short-chain oligomers (6 or 7 residues) exhibit re markably stable secondary structures. However, before certain applicat ions of beta-peptides can be considered, an information about their po ssible interactions or reactions with enzymes must be acquired. Ames t ests (all negative) have now been performed on a selection of beta-ami no acids, which would be the result of the enzymatic degradation of a beta-peptide. Furthermore, digestion experiments using a variety of pe ptidases and beta-peptides have now shown that beta-peptides, in sharp contrast to their alpha-peptide counterparts, undergo no degradation.